I’m worried about my mother’s health. She’s 87 and just had two teeth fall out. She’s humiliated. I’m guessing at her age her teeth are reaching their limit. Are there affordable tooth replacement options for her? Her appearance matters to her, but she doesn’t have a lot of money. Any advice you have for us? I was thinking of a dental bridge in both spots where she lost teeth.

Brandon

Dear Brandon,

Well cared for teeth can last a lifetime.

Your mom is in a tough spot. If her teeth are starting to just fall out, this means she has advanced periodontal disease. Unless this is addressed, her teeth will continue to fall out. That will be priority one— getting her seen and addressing her gum disease.

As for replacing her teeth with a bridge, this won’t work. The bridge will put additional strain on her adjacent teeth. With her advanced gum disease, they’ll end up falling out as well.

Under normal circumstances, I’d advice getting dental implants. This help prevents her from losing the bone structure in her jaw, a process known as facial collapse. While there are affordable dental implant options, this isn’t a solution for her either. At her age, facial collapse is not likely to be a significant issue. She is not really a viable candidate anyway because of the state of her gums.

Cu-Sil Partial Denture

I’m going to recommend you get the type of denture pictured at the left. This can leave holes for all the remaining teeth she has, allowing her to keep as much natural tooth structure as possible. If she happens to lose more teeth, and hopefully she won’t, it’s pretty easy to pop in another false tooth into the holes.

I hope this helps. It’s great that you are taking care of your mother. She’s lucky to have a son looking out for her.
This blog is brought to you by Huntsville Dentist Dr. Steve Murphree.

My 75-year-old mother is very proud of her appearance. She still wears pencil skirts and low heels. She even had her teeth whitened three years ago. Today she called me in tears because one of her teeth just fell out. She wants to get a dental implant. I looked into it and they seem pretty expensive. Is there a way to get affordable ones, sort of like a senior citizen discount? She doesn’t have a lot of money, but I know she’ll want to look her best.

Carrie

Dear Carrie,

It’s great that you’re looking after your mother. I have to tell you I’m a little concerned by what you’ve described. I’m assuming because she had her teeth whitened just a few years ago that she is under the regular care of a dentist. If her tooth just fell out, that is an indication of advanced periodontal disease (gum disease). Her dentist should have been warning her about this ages ago. If this isn’t handled right away, she could lose all of her teeth.

Unfortunately, because of the gum disease, she is not a candidate for dental implants. The reason is the same disease that is causing her teeth to no longer be secure, will also be present with the dental implants. They will fall out just like her teeth.

The first thing to do is get her to a dentist right away. If for some reason she doesn’t have a dentist, find an emergency dentist, explain the situation. I’m sure they’ll find a way to get her in as soon as possible. Once her gum disease is under control, then she can address her missing teeth.

Affordable Solutions for Missing Teeth

If she loses many more teeth, she’ll likely need dentures. But, she can get snap-on dentures, which are more affordable than a full set of dental implants.

However, if her teeth are saved and she’s only lost the one tooth you mentioned earlier, she can get a dental bridge or even a removable partial denture. A dental bridge is two crowns with a false tooth suspended between them.

There is a couple of type of removable partial dentures. One is clipped to her other teeth. The other rests on her jawbone ridge. You can learn more about these options on our partial dentures page.

I hope this helps and I’m very glad you wrote. It sounds like your mother tries hard to take care of herself. Hopefully, the neglect from her dentist can be repaired and her teeth saved.

I am terrified I’m losing my dental implants. I had severe gum disease. We did extra appointments to try and save the teeth, but it didn’t work. I lost two teeth in the back. My dentist explained how important it was to replace those teeth. He helped me choose between dental implants and removable partial dentures. We decided on dental implants. I knew it was the more expensive procedure, but it was supposed to be permanent. I really like the dental implants. They’re just like having healthy teeth again. Unfortunately, they’re coming loose just like my teeth did. What do I do?

Eloise L.

Dear Eloise,

I’m concerned about the treatment you received. If you had severe gum disease your dentist should have done much more than just extra appointments. Plus, dental implants should never have been an option. Gum disease and implants are contraindicative of one another. If your gums can’t hold in teeth, how are they supposed to hold in dental implants?

The priority, then and now, should be repairing your gum disease. Without that being healed, you’ll just lose your dental implants, as it seems you are right now.

There’s a small possibility if the gum disease is dealt with that everything will tighten back up. However, realistically, that’s not likely to happen. If it doesn’t, your implants will fail. That will mean starting completely over. You’ll likely also need to have some bone grafting done beforehand.

Here’s what I’m going to suggest. I want you to get a second opinion from another dentist, one who has significant training and experience with dental implants. Have them check out the health of your gums and the status of your implants.

Likely, they’ll start you immediately on aggressive treatments for gum disease. They may even have you visit a periodontist.

You’re right that implants are the best tooth replacement. I do agree with your dentist on that. However, they need a healthy mouth to work. He should have warned you of all this ahead of time.

You can get a temporary tooth replacement if they fail, such as a partial denture. Then when your gums are in great shape go back to the ideal.

I’ve got a problem with losing teeth. I lose significantly more teeth than my peers. It’s not my technique. I’m not sure what the problem is, but I need to find a replacement solution. I want to get dental implants, but if they’ll just fall out like my teeth it would cost me too much money to continually replace them. Would dentures be better? I’m in my early thirties, so the idea of dentures is horribly embarrassing.

Steve M.

Dear Steve,

I understand your concern. If you’re losing more teeth that you should be you’d want to determine why before settling on a treatment. For instance, if you have gum disease, dental implants aren’t even an option. Gum disease causes your teeth to lose support and fall out. The same thing would happen to your implants as well. I’d get a thorough exam by a dentist to see if there’s anything unusual going on.

Another thing to consider is whether or not you’re wearing a mouthguard during your work. Your job is a rather intense sport and you need to protect your teeth from the stress and shock. If you’re not wearing one, that could also be a huge problem.

If you find out that there’s nothing unusual going on other than bad luck, then it’s time to make a decision. While dental implants are just like having natural teeth, they will also get knocked off just like your teeth. And, you’re right, they’re very expensive to replace.

Until the winds of fortune change on you ejecting your pearly whites, you’re better off with dentures or a dental bridge. They don’t cost nearly as much to replace.